The Flames That Start A Fire
by P.A.M-u-lar
Summary: A fire in The Vic will ensue but who and what will cause it? A popular character returns with a new family in tow, a much loved couple tie the knot, a baby bombshell hits those who least expect it, and someone has changed - a lot. Hope you like it R&R :-
1. Chapter 1

**The Boy in the Black Coat**

The officer examined the file carefully, and somehow managed to find himself quietly shocked by what he was reading.

It wasn't the boy's unsettling family life that shocked him for he had seen cases like his numerous times before. Abused, bullied, a dead mother, an alcoholic father, the list never seemed to end. He sure had been through the wars but sadly, many other prisoners were in a similar situation and it was nothing out of the norm. No, it was in fact the character profiles written by his family before his conviction that ultimately puzzled him.

He had been observing the boy carefully, in the week leading up to his release, and was astonished by what he saw. According to his files, he came here as a five foot two inch tall boy, bespectacled and adorning a hearing aid. His greatest passions were singing, dancing, reading, and writing. Five months later, and he had grown into a five foot eight inch tall boy, no longer wearing glasses or using the hearing aid he had never really needed. The officer presumed he opted not to wear it because he refused to show any signs of weakness. After all, it didn't seem to matter if he wore it, as there were no evident signs of him not being able to hear properly.

Yes, he was a changed boy. It was practically impossible to imagine him belting out a tune these days - especially since his voice had broken.

That week, the officer had watched the freshly turned fifteen year old play football with fellow inmates. Considering the boy had never been into sports before, it was amazing to watch the amount of skill and natural talent he displayed when playing. As he matured he had turned into a very good looking lad, therefore gaining confidence and a harder edge to his personality to match.

Letting out a sigh, he closed the file and slotted it back into its place in the cabinet. He examined the boy in the black coat sitting in front of him, and picked up on his anxiety as he continuously tapped his fingers upon the old wooden table in front of him.

'I think everything has been cleared up then,' the officer declared, breaking the awkward silence.

The boy looked up and nodded, clearing his throat in order to speak.

'So I can go?' he gently queried, trying to conceal his nerves.

'Follow me,' the officer replied, beckoning him over to the door, 'and then you can go.'

Peggy Mitchell touched the gates that towered above her gently, silently hoping it would give her some sort of insight as to what her grandson had been going through for the past five months. He was so young and immature for his age, she couldn't bear to think what a snivelling wreck he may have turned into while he was locked up here. She had tried to visit a few times after he had banished the family from visiting but true to his word, he had never appeared and Peggy was always left disappointed. She looked up at the tall blonde standing next to her and was glad that she had at least reconnected with Ronnie. It was going to be hard enough breaking the news about his father's downward spiral to him, let alone if he had to return to a warring family.

'Auntie Peg!' Ronnie cried, causing Peggy to fall out of her trance, and look up to see what Ronnie was gesturing at.

She noticed a figure in the distance making his way towards the gates. There was what seemed to be a police officer escorting him along, but as Peggy started to wave, the officer left the boy to make the rest of the way out on his own.

'Ben!' Ronnie shouted, a smile spreading across her face, lighting it up.

The boy began to wave too, but he was considerably taller and very different looking to Ben Mitchell. Eventually, the boy reached the gates and was let out by another officer, to find himself face to face with his family for the first time in months.

The three of them looked at each other, a frosty silence between them.

'You know,' he mumbled, attempting to break the ice, 'I really feel like sprinting off into the distance. It would just feel so good. I'd feel so free.'

Peggy appeared to be thinking about something to say but before she did, Ben decided to get in first.

'Before you say anything,' he began, noticing the shocked expressions upon his family's faces, 'I know I look completely different to the boy you remember. But that's because I am. I've grown taller -'

'I've noticed' Ronnie interrupted.

'My voice broke -'

'I've noticed that too,' she replied once again.

Ben let out a short laugh.

'And, before you interrupt Auntie Ronnie, I've grown into someone I'm a lot more comfortable being,' he continued. 'I like playing sport and -'

This time it was Peggy that interrupted him, but instead of speaking she pulled him in for a much needed hug. It was a rather clumsy embrace as Ben now towered over Peggy, who had always been small in stature.

'You can tell us all of that on the way home. You're a Mitchell, my only grandson, and I'll love you no matter what. I think everyone will be pleased to see what a fine figure of a man you've turned into. Now, go get yourself in the car,' she ordered, smiling as she did so.

'Good to have you back, Gran,' he replied, sarcastically saluting her at the same time.

Ronnie let out an exaggerated cough, as if to gain his attention.

'And you Auntie Ronnie,' finding himself being pulled into her embrace now too. Once he had peeled her off he looked around, a confused expression on his face.

'I think there's someone I've forgotten!' he exclaimed but he was still smiling. So, where is he?' Ben queried innocently. Noticing the puzzling looks he was receiving he continued to explain. 'Dad! Is he in the car? Or is he waiting at home with Lou?'

Peggy sighed, her smile crumbling, as her grandson asked the questions she had been dreading.

'Oh, Ben. I'm so sorry for what I'm going to have to tell you. I hoped you wouldn't have asked so soon, at least until we'd got home, but he is your Dad. Maybe you should take a seat, darling.'

Peggy heard her niece's sharp intake of breath, confirming her fears that this was going to be a long journey home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just Like a Mitchell**

'Do you think I should start playing the music now, or when he gets here?' Roxy Mitchell asked an uninterested looking Shirley Carter.

'Hello!' Roxy cried snapping her fingers in front of Shirley's face. Shirley slowly raised her head to look at Roxy before getting up from her stool and walking behind the bar to pour another drink.

'Great help you are! Erm, you can put that down too,' she shouted and grabbed the glass from within Shirley's grasp.

The bold as brass blonde faked a smile and strode over to the music player and hit the play button.

'His dad's on crack and his sister's been taken into care, but I'm sure that whether 'You're The One That I Want' is playing or not is the most important thing on his mind,' Shirley remarked sarcastically.

Roxy glared at her but just as she was about to say something, someone started yanking the door handles vigorously.

'Alright, alright, Auntie Peg, I'm coming!'

'That's not Peggy,' Shirley stated coolly, 'unless of course she's been working out at the gym without us knowing.'

Despite Shirley's suspicion, Roxy unlocked the door anyway, only to find herself being pushed out of the way at full force by Phil Mitchell.

'Phil!' both women cried simultaneously.

'Where's my son! Ben! Ben!' He slammed his fists down onto the wooden bar, causing the glasses to rattle as they shook.

'WHERE IS HE?' he boomed.

Roxy gulped and looked outside, hoping someone would come in and be her saviour.

'Gimme my son.' It was most definitely a demand and although his tone was menacing, he had lowered his voice which calmed Roxy's fears slightly.

'I think you'd better go. For now.' The voice came from the doorway to The Vic but Roxy did not recognize the voice and she could not see the face.

Phil let out a patronizing chuckle, but he did not turn around to face whoever was speaking to him. Instead, he picked up his arm and swivelled around launching his arm towards the person behind him.

The boy stepped back and ducked – just to be precautious. The fist was never going to make contact but he had learnt not to risk anything. Phil merely laughed at his own pathetic attempt at a punch and looked at the person he had been swinging out for the first time.

'Ben?' he grumbled, his gruff voice laced with a tone of disbelief.

'Dad.' Ben looked close to tears as he observed the state his father was in. Peggy had told him about some of the stuff that had happened while he was away in preparation for the inevitable reunion between father and son. Ben just wished he could've been allowed to fully digest the information before he had to witness this.

'Please go. I can't see you right now.' Peggy and Ronnie were now standing behind Ben, but just as Peggy was about to interrupt, Ronnie stopped her.

'Let him have his moment,' she whispered simply into her aunt's ear, reflecting upon her own difficult relationship with her father.

Phil looked around deliriously, before bringing his gaze back on to his son. Noticing the fear in the young boy's eyes he nodded his head before stumbling out of the door.

'Later,' Ben whispered. 'We'll talk later,' he said, only just loud enough for his father to hear.

Ronnie shut the door of The Vic and gave Ben a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Ben took in a deep breath and upon observing Roxy and Shirley's bewildered expressions he managed to find himself laughing.

'I'm having that kind of effect on everyone today,' he joked.

Roxy and Shirley found themselves both cracking a smile.

'Let's get this party started!' Roxy roared, before bouncing over to her cousin and giving him a warm hug.

Half of the square had now turned up to the party, and the place was buzzing. Some people had arrived simply because they were nosy and were keen to spread any gossip they could find. Others had arrived for the free food and the hope of getting a free drink. Then, of course, there were the few close friends and family who were genuinely pleased to see the once innocent young boy back where he belonged.

Ben sat in the corner of The Vic, tired of answering questions. Everyone was surprised to see the change in the boy and Roxy had simply laughed when she found the Grease CD lying in two pieces on the bar. He sure wanted to get rid of his old image.

'Quite a catch now, ain't he,' a tall flame-haired woman commented, while talking to her husband.

Who?' her husband asked gormlessly.

'Ben!' she cried, despairing at how slow Ricky Butcher could be. Still, she thought to herself, she loved him all the more for it.

'I didn't know you were into younger men, Bianca,' her mother replied wryly, joining in the conversation.

Bianca looked at her mother in disdain.

'I was looking for Whit. She needs another man in her life, to get over Billie.'

'That's your answer to everything, isn't it? Go find yourself the first man in sight and go off with him,' Carol once again spouted, looking at her daughter shamefully.

The sound of something metal being tapped against a glass swept throughout the pub causing everyone to fall into silence.

Peggy Mitchell opened her mouth to speak when suddenly, someone barged through the door.

A tall, very handsome man fell through the doorway and made his way to the bar, waving cockily (a trait that suited him well) at those who were staring at him. For those who didn't recognize him, his rugged charm and good looks caused their eyes to fall upon him. For those who did recognize him, the look on his face informed them that he was back for good.

'You know when I heard that Ben Mitchell was in prison, my first thought was what the hell. I mean, this is the boy that thought badass meant not going to bed on time. Then, I thought, getting banged up, well, just like a Mitchell. Finally, I thought let's crash the welcome back party because it will be fun to see everyone's faces. And I was right,' the man finished off saying, pleased by all the attention he was receiving.

'Sean,' Roxy whispered, her voice taken out from beneath her at the sight of her ex-husband.

Sean Slater looked at Roxanne Mitchell for the first time in nearly two years and found he was quite happy to see her.

'Hiya Rox,' he smirked, before casually picking up a vodka shot and downing it in one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Since You've Been Gone**

'Sean! Oh, Sean!' Jean cried - her face lighting up at the sight of her son. The pair of them had always had a strained relationship until Sean had kidnapped the young girl he once believed was his daughter. With any other family, witnessing your son do this would pull a relationship apart, but with the Slater's – it only brought mother and child closer together. She tottered over to him, almost falling over several times as her ankles buckled beneath her.

'Mum,' Sean mumbled monotonously, the wind knocked out of his sails at the sight of his family. Sean let out a large sigh, not yet wanting to face the barrel of questions that would surely be hurled at him any minute soon. He looked around, searching for the closest exit, when he saw his sister sitting in the corner of the pub, the pair of them wearing the same expression upon their face.

'Don't you think should you should call the police?' Ronnie asked her sister, the memories of January 1st 2009, still etched into her mind. The entire pub was still shocked into silence, enjoying each event as it unfolded. Ben Mitchell was smiling at the stroke of luck that had allowed him a chance to escape all the attention he had been receiving.

'Just leave it Ron,' Roxy replied, close to tears now. She put her hand out longingly, as if she wanted to touch him to be certain of the reality of it all.

'Is that your brother, Stace?' her friend, Becca, asked in interest. 'I wouldn't mind getting to know him, if you know what I mean.' Stacey gave her friend a look of disgust. Becca really knew how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

'Well, this is awkward,' Sean spoke, breaking the silence. 'Jack! Of course, Jack. I would so come over there and punch you in the face but that just wouldn't be fair. Then again, seeing you flailing around on the floor helplessly would maybe take out some of the anger you make well up inside me.'

'Don't you go anywhere near him! I don't want you anywhere near him!' Ronnie gave Sean a warning look, wanting to protect her soon to be husband. It was only a month until the wedding now. Jack gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

'Ron. Hey, Ron, look at me. It's alright, I can look after myself,' he assured her, not wanting to let himself be riled by Sean's comments.

'Sean!' a female voice called out from outside the pub. 'Sean!' she called out again as she opened the door of the pub and poked her head inside. 'Oh,' she cried as she realised all eyes were now upon her. She stepped through the door and shut it behind her.

'I just came to see where Sean was,' she explained to everyone innocently. She was a very, very, pretty young girl, about 5ft 5in, with long blonde hair and startling green eyes.

'Who is this?' Roxy demanded, looking at Sean to provide her with at least one of the answers she had been desperate for.

'Hollie! I thought I told you to wait outside,' Sean sighed.

'Hollie! You sure get your way through women,' the younger Mitchell sister barked at her former husband, jealousy building up inside of her.

'What?' Sean said giving Roxy an incredulous look. 'What are you on about Rox? She's fifteen years old!' he exclaimed.

The entire pub gasped in horror, misunderstanding him to be saying he was dating a fifteen year old girl.

'Ooh, I say,' Dot yelped, shocked at what she was hearing but thoroughly enjoying the episode.

The young girl called Hollie laughed, amused at everyone's reaction.

'You guys all look like you're going to wet yourselves. It's alright, we did know each other for half a year before we decided to move in together,' Hollie stated coolly, picking up a bowl of crisps and starting to nibble on them.

Once again, the punters in the Vic were roared in horror, left reeling by what they hand heard.

'Hol! Don't wide them up, they all take it the wrong way! I guess it's my fault though, I taught you that,' Sean Slater sighed again holding his head in his hands. 'And to you lot,' he said, addressing everyone in the pub, 'Hollie is my daughter. Well, step-daughter.'

This seemed to calm the pub down somewhat but they continued to gawp at him like he was a movie star.

Roxy shook her head and averted her gaze from his.

'She's right though. I've been dating Hollie's mum for about half a year and I got introduced to the kids almost straight away. And now we're moving in together. Back in Walford.' He directed his explanation at his family, hoping his sister would soften to him and his new family.

'Got anymore surprises for us, Sean,' Stacey finally squawked, speaking for the first time.

'Well, actually, I've got an older brother called Jamie and a younger sister called Stephanie. So that's another two surprise children. Oh, and nice to meet you Stacey. I guess I should call you my step-aunt.' Hollie smiled and looked up at Stacey Slater. The optimism she displayed made Sean laugh. From the moment he met Hollie she had managed to plaster a smile on his face. Despite his tough exterior, Sean could be sweet and caring and he had warmed to his step-kids – especially Hollie – as much as they had warmed to him.

'I can't do this right now,' Stacey cried and made her way to the door of the pub. She hesitated at the door and turned around to face her brother.

'You left. You just left. And now you've come back expecting us to welcome you back with open arms and since you've been gone you don't know what I've been going through and -'

'- I do know!' Sean replied, interrupting Stacey mid-sentence. 'Hollie found an article about Bradley when she was looking up Walford. And it mentioned his distraught, pregnant, widow. That's one of the reasons I came back. I would've come earlier had I known,' Sean pleaded, shocked that he felt guilty for leaving for the first time.

Stacey looked her brother up and down once more before storming out of the pub.

Sean shook his head and looked up at his step-daughter. 'Step-aunt?' he mouthed at her, a puzzled look on his face.

'I was trying to be nice!' she replied, shrugging her shoulders. 'You should go after her,' she suggested, noticing Jean was about to do the same thing

Sean nodded and smiled before walking out of the pub, closely followed by Jean.

As soon as he left, people started to talk amongst themselves, clearly gossiping about today's events. Many people were still staring at Sean's newly announced step-daughter, including Roxy Mitchell.

'You're underage,' Ronnie Mitchell said, addressing Hollie.

'No one seemed to mind when I was causing all the drama,' the young girl stated simply, and promptly exited, leaving everyone to realise she was telling the truth.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the reviews everyone, I really appreciate them.**** I will try to update as much as I can and feel free to give me any advice or any ideas about the way you may want the story to go **

**x******

**Heroes and Villains**

Stacey juggled the task of tending to her baby with listening to her brother explain away his absence. For the most part of his speech, she had been staring at his new family in horror, surprised that Sean had settled down – let alone with such a complex brood. Sat in front of her was a boy called Jamie, seventeen years old and tall with dark blond hair. Beside him was Stephanie, an eleven year old girl with blonde curly hair tied up into a quite bedraggled ponytail. In the corner of the room was the pretty girl with long blonde hair she had met before, and finally a woman called Lindsay who was the spitting image of her eldest daughter; just twenty years older.

From what Stacey had picked up was that Lindsay's ex-husband held custody of their children and he had agreed to move to Walford so the kids could stay close to their mother. She hadn't bothered to ask why Lindsay did not have the rights to her children but instead was suspicious of her brother's reasons for being with her.

'And Steven, their dad, works for the police force. He's transferred here but I did warn him not to. They don't really have a great record round here,' Sean finished off, smiling knowingly and looking up at his sister for a reaction.

'Well. What do you want from me Sean? A gold star for being such a hero and marching back here like you own the place. I never asked you to come back. What makes you think I need you here?' the feisty young brunette retorted, fed up of seeing Sean so pleased with himself.

'I lost everything too, Stace. I needed to get out of here, out of this dump for a while. Chances are I would've been the victim in a murder enquiry if I'd stayed – I had that much enemies. Still, at least old Jack Branning got what was coming to him,' he said, laughing so his family would take his words light-heartedly. While he could fool everyone else into thinking this was merely a joke, Stacey could see the menace dancing in his eyes. Sean was a Jekyll and Hyde type character, he could show a soft side, but when someone riled him his dark side would rage through.

A high pitched ringtone blared out, breaking the silence. Jamie pulled out his phone and answered it, but the call was short and he just as quickly hung up.

'Dad needs us home to help bring in all our moving stuff. We'll come see your flat later Mum,' gesturing to his siblings to leave as he ordered them to do so.

'Bye kids,' Lindsay whispered wistfully, wishing she would never have to reveal to Sean the horrific tragedy which caused her to lose custody of her kids in the first place. Lindsay realised that Stacey had got the situation all wrong. It wasn't Sean that was the bad guy. No, he was the hero. And she? She was the villain.

******xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ben left the Beale household with Peter by his side, in a bit of a daze. He had decided to arrange the first meeting with his Dad there, because his brother Ian had wanted to be there, and he had been warned about the state of his father's house. The conversation him and his father had shared was long and at times awkward, but the only part that Ben remembered was the part that meant most to him:

'I think I'm past that phase where I think my dad's the best in the world. You're not going to make it out of this as a hero. I don't even know if you're going to make it out of this one. And not making it is worse than simply being the villain,' Ben admitted, surprised at how strong he was feeling during this conversation.

'Just give me a chance. Y-you're my boy, you can wait. I'll stop using,' Phil replied.

'You can't stop. You're an addict; you don't just wake up one day and stop wanting or taking drugs. Then there's the alcohol problem too.' Ben stopped talking and began to consider an idea he had been thinking about. 'How about rehab?' he mumbled, afraid of his dad's reaction

Phil began to laugh in his typically cruel and mocking way. 'I ain't going to no poxy place where they think they can cure me. I'm Phil Mitchell, I don't need anyone's help.'

'For god's sake!' Ben shouted leaping to his feet. 'Do you care about anyone else but yourself. You've already lost one kid, don't drive your only other one away from you. Yes you may be Phil Mitchell. But before that, you're a dad.'

Phil didn't reply so Ben began to head for the door.

'Ben! Ben, wait,' Ian pleaded.

'Alright,' Phil said his head held in his hands. 'I'll do it.'

Those were the last few words Ben took in properly. His brother began to talk about different rehabilitation centres and had called Peggy round to help but Ben had shut himself off. His dad had picked up on his discomfort and told him to go out, which was something Ben agreed with straight away. Peter had followed him and they were sitting on a bench in the square now, talking about Sean's unexpected return in The Vic earlier. As they talked, Ben noticed the blonde girl called Hollie standing outside her new house, looking blankly into the distance. Ben smiled and began to wave at her.

'What are you doing?' Peter asked, shocked.

'I don't know. I just felt like waving at her so I did it,' Ben replied, shrugging his shoulders.

As Hollie noticed the two boys, she cocked her head to one side and found herself cracking a smile. She lifted her hand up hesitantly but dropped it down again straight away before turning into her house and shutting the door behind her.

'What was that about? Do you even know her?' Peter queried, not understanding the situation.

Ben sighed and averted his gaze away from the spot where the girl had stood.

'Never mind, nephew. We all know you can be a bit slow,' Ben joked, receiving a playful punch for doing so.

It was a small, insignificant moment between the two virtual strangers, but somehow Ben Mitchell found himself unable to get the girl out of his mind. Luckily for him, he was about to see a lot more of the pretty blonde called Hollie Sinclair.

****

'Whit,' Bianca called out as she finally returned home after much gossiping about Sean Slater in the pub. 'I'm home. You'll never guess what happened in The Vic today. No one can stop going on about it. I mean, Mum nearly had a field day. Her and Dot could've stayed nattering away in the corner of The Vic all night!' Bianca joked lightly, giving her mother a playful nudge in the ribs.

'Oh you take things way out of proportion,' Carol Jackson sneered, embarrassed.

'Whit!' Bianca called up the stairs again after she received no reply. Once again, there was no reply so she took it upon herself to go and check on her step-daughter.

'Whit,' she called more quietly this time, knocking on her bedroom door.

Whitney Dean jumped off of her bed and yanked open the door, her face still stained with tears.

'Whit! Have you been crying?' Bianca asked. She looked into the girl's room and saw pictures of Billie scattered over the floor.

'Not about Billie again. I thought you'd got rid of all your photos.'

'I had to keep some of them!' Whitney protested. 'He's the love of my life,' she sighed, and started to cry all over again. Bianca pulled her in for a hug and was surprised at how tightly Whitney was hugging her back.

'Bianca,' Whitney sobbed, pulling back from her step-mother's embrace.

'No, Whit you can't keep talking about the past or you'll never get over him. You're a pretty girl, and there's plenty of fish in the sea. You'll find another boy and this time he might be -'

'I can't!' Whitney mumbled.

'Of course you can. I know you still love Billie but you'll see that -'

'I'm pregnant!' Whitney cried, and upon seeing the stunned look on Bianca's face, she slammed her bedroom door shut, and picked up a photo of her and Billie. She looked at his smiling face in disgust and found she had ripped the photo in half. She squeezed her hand shut, hoping if she crumpled up his picture enough, he would simply disappear. Whitney flung herself upon her bed and realised there was something she had missed all this time. Billie wasn't the hero. In fact, he was rapidly turning into the villain.


End file.
